The numbers are staggering. In Ghana, 67% of law graduates fail their entrance exam. In Kenya, 75% can’t pass. In Nigeria, 13% fail even after admission.
Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah stood right in the middle of Ghana’s version of this crisis. He taught Civil Procedure at the Ghana School of Law while serving on the Supreme Court. Later, as Chief Justice, he chaired the very body that set those brutal admission standards.
His story reveals something bigger: West Africa has too few lawyers but keeps turning away thousands of qualified candidates every year.
One Man, Three Roles, Zero Easy Answers
Anin-Yeboah experienced Ghana’s legal system from every angle. He trained at the Ghana School of Law in 1981. He taught there throughout his judicial career. And from 2020 to 2023, as Chief Justice, he controlled admission policies as Chairman of the General Legal Council.
His friend Yaw Barima, a private legal practitioner, described him simply during his May 2023 retirement: “He did not like injustice in any form. He wanted to see things done right.”
But what does “done right” mean when Ghana produces 2,000 law graduates annually and only admits 500-1,000 to professional training?
The West African Pattern
This isn’t just Ghana’s problem.
Ghana’s 2023 entrance exam: 964 passed out of 2,928 (33% pass rate). The 2022 exam was worse: only 522 passed out of 2,654 (20%). In 2019, just 128 students succeeded out of 1,820—a devastating 7% that sparked protests.
Kenya’s 2020 bar exam: 445 passed out of 1,991 (22% pass rate).
Nigeria’s November 2024 bar finals: 940 students failed out of 7,134 who’d already been admitted (13% failure rate).
These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re a regional pattern.
The Access Crisis Nobody Wants to Fix
Here’s the math that matters to ordinary people:
- Ghana: 30 million people, 4,882 lawyers (1 lawyer per 6,143 people)
- Nigeria: 200 million people, produces 5,000-7,000 lawyers yearly
- California alone: 200,000 lawyers for 39 million people (1 lawyer per 195 people)
West Africa has 25 to 30 times fewer lawyers per capita than the United States.
Yet at a December 2022 event, Justice Anin-Yeboah said: “The General Legal Council cannot and dare not compromise on standards in the wake of the proliferation of law faculties.”
Translation: More law schools opened, so we need even stricter gatekeeping.
The Monopoly Problem
The Ghana School of Law, established by President Kwame Nkrumah in 1958, is the only institution authorized to train practicing lawyers in Ghana. Zero alternatives exist.
Got a law degree from Harvard? You still take Ghana’s entrance exam. Studied at Oxford? Same story. No exemptions.
This monopoly exists across West Africa. Kenya has the Kenya School of Law. Nigeria runs six Nigerian Law School campuses. All control who becomes a lawyer through single-point gatekeeping.
The kwasi anin-yeboah ghana school of law connection matters because he taught at this monopoly institution, then ultimately controlled it. He knew the system was restrictive. He defended it anyway.
What Defenders Say
President Nana Akufo-Addo praised Anin-Yeboah’s infrastructure improvements during his farewell: “His tenure has seen arguably the largest infrastructural development undertaken in the history of the judiciary.”
Supporters argue that maintaining high standards prevents incompetent lawyers from harming clients. They point to countries that lowered standards and saw quality decline.
As a teacher, Anin-Yeboah brought real Supreme Court experience to Ghana School of Law classrooms. His students learned Civil Procedure from someone who’d written actual constitutional rulings. That hands-on knowledge matters.
What Critics See
When Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria all maintain 60-80% failure rates, when all three face severe lawyer shortages, when millions lack legal services—it looks less like quality control and more like artificial scarcity.
Some suspect the system protects existing lawyers from competition and keeps legal fees high. Others point to infrastructure problems—Ghana can’t physically accommodate 2,000 students in professional training simultaneously.
But here’s the uncomfortable question: If these students passed rigorous four-year university programs to earn their LLB degrees, why do 67-80% suddenly fail standardized entrance exams?
The Regional Education Crisis
This extends beyond law schools. UNESCO reports over 32 million school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa remain out of school. Nigeria alone has 10 million children out of school in the northern region.
Nigeria’s education spending dropped from 0.55% of GDP in 2012 to just 0.35% in 2022. Infrastructure problems are real.
But legal education adds deliberate gatekeeping on top of infrastructure shortages. That’s the crisis part.
FAQs
What exactly did Justice Anin-Yeboah teach at Ghana School of Law?
He taught Civil Procedure and Ghana Legal System as a part-time lecturer throughout his Supreme Court career (2008-2023), bringing courtroom experience directly into classrooms.
Can foreign-trained lawyers skip these exams?
No. Even Harvard or Oxford graduates must pass Ghana School of Law’s entrance exam. Nigeria and Kenya have similar requirements. Foreign credentials get you nothing.
Is this about protecting quality or limiting competition?
That’s West Africa’s central debate. Defenders like Anin-Yeboah say standards can’t be compromised. Critics point out that qualified university graduates who pass rigorous programs somehow fail bar entrance exams at 60-80% rates.
How does this compare to American law schools?
U.S. law schools accept 45-55% of applicants. American bar exams have 75-80% pass rates. West Africa’s numbers are inverted—they accept the minority and fail the majority.
What This All Means
Justice Anin-Yeboah retired May 24, 2023, after four decades in law. He trained at Ghana School of Law in 1981, taught there as a lecturer, and ended his career as Chairman of the General Legal Council—the body controlling who gets in.
His career shows both sides of this crisis. As a teacher, he brought real courtroom experience to students. As Chief Justice, he improved court infrastructure. But as the person controlling admission standards, he presided over a system that turned away thousands.
Here’s the bottom line: Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria all desperately need more lawyers. Rural areas go unserved. Legal aid systems can barely function. Ordinary people can’t afford or access legal help.
Yet the institutions training lawyers keep failure rates at 60-80%. That’s not an accident. It’s a choice.
The kwasi anin-yeboah ghana school of law connection matters because it shows this isn’t about one person. It’s about a regional system that prioritizes exclusivity over access. Whether you call that “maintaining standards” or “creating artificial scarcity” depends on your perspective.
What’s undeniable is the result: millions of West Africans need legal services that don’t exist because potential lawyers can’t get through the gate.